Tom Cruise digs Eren Jeager’s Rumbling: Hollywood star reacts to ‘Attack on Titan’ at Studio MAPPA

Tom Cruise expressed his enthusiasm for Studio MAPPA’s work after visiting the animation studio’s 15th-anniversary exhibition in Tokyo on October 9. The Hollywood actor and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu toured displays featuring Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and Attack on Titan: The Final Season while in Japan to promote their film Digger. During the visit, Cruise encountered an exhibition recreating the Rumbling, the apocalyptic event central to the conclusion of Attack on Titan.

The Rumbling is one of the defining events in Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan, in which Eren Jeager unleashes an army of enormous Wall Titans to trample the world beyond Paradis Island. Eren’s decision to initiate the mass destruction becomes the central conflict of the story’s final chapters, placing his former allies in the position of trying to stop him. MAPPA animated the series’ final season, bringing the manga’s climactic events to the screen.

Cruise and Iñárritu were guided through the exhibition by MAPPA animator Tadashi Hiramatsu, who also participated in a discussion with the filmmakers about animation and filmmaking. Cruise showed interest in the studio’s production methods, asking how much of the animation was created by hand. Hiramatsu explained that digital tools are now widely used by younger animators, while emphasising the continued importance of learning traditional drawing techniques.

The visit also included displays for Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. At the end of the event, Hiramatsu presented Cruise and Iñárritu with original illustrations of Digger Rockwell, the protagonist of their film Digger, bearing the message “There is TRUTH within a LIE.” The pair discussed the artwork’s connection to the film’s themes before continuing their tour of the exhibition.

Cruise’s visit comes as MAPPA marks 15 years in animation. Founded in 2011, the studio has become internationally recognised for titles including Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man. The exhibition offered the actor a closer look at the creative and technical work behind anime productions, bringing together original artwork, production material and displays celebrating the studio’s catalogue.